Case Assignment
Clarifying Your Vision
A vision is a guiding image of success. It is a description in words that conjures up a picture of the destination of your work. There is one universal rule of planning: You will never be greater than the vision that guides you. No Olympic athlete ever got to the Olympics by mistake; a compelling vision of a stellar performance inevitably guides all the blood, sweat, and tears. The vision statement should require you to stretch your expectations, aspirations, and performance. Please note that there are three parts to this assignment and you will submit all three sections in a single word file.
PART I:
VISION:
Vision Overview (Copied and pasted from the university website)
Being prompted to write a vision statement is quite similar to the career counselor’s initial question, “If I had a magic wand and could create the perfect opportunity for you, how would you describe it for me?”
Writing a vision statement helps you to think about and clarify what is really important to you. Defining what you want for your future can be complicated and impacted by a wide range of variables, some obvious and others less so.
Promotion, advancement, or career development is not for everyone. Perhaps you do not want additional responsibility or authority. Maybe you prefer work that you can forget when you go home. Perhaps you have another interest that involves a strong personal commitment. Career development may be a long-term goal, but not an important one at this particular point in time.
There is often strong social or organizational pressure to “get ahead”. But getting ahead is not the answer for everyone, and it may not be the answer for you.
Career planning must consider personal interests, values, and commitments. What you do in your working life should be consistent with what you expect to get out of life.
Confusion about goals, values, and priorities is common. Peer pressure to accept certain values as your own is often difficult to overcome. Some values may seem to be more “socially acceptable.”
The goal of writing a vision statement is to work through some of this potential confusion and determine priorities and motivations that are likely to drive both your short and long term goals and decisions. Do not feel concerned if this process presents a struggle, there are many exercises and modules throughout the Career Exploration and Planning Tools to assist you.

Vision Statement (Copied and pasted from the university website)
Have you ever envisioned your ideal future? Will you be a big-time player with offices in New York or London? Or maybe you want to build a family-run business, passed on from generation to generation with old-fashioned values. Whatever future you imagine, don’t underestimate the power of putting it in writing.
There’s some confusion when it comes to writing vision statements. A simple definition of a vision statement is that it paints a picture of the ideal YOU in the future. A well-done vision statement should drive the way you allocate resources. Ideally, you want to plan out as far into the future as is comfortable for you. If you only plan for two years, then your long-term results will suffer.

Writing A Vision Statement (Copied and pasted from the university website)
Ready to dream big? Then roll up your sleeves. Writing a vision statement isn’t a one-step process; it involves a lot of analysis and introspection. Here’s how to get the ball rolling:
1. Create a mental image. Take ten minutes to draw what you think your life ten years from now will look like. Do not limit yourself because of finances or other day-to-day challenges. Use this as an opportunity to explore the real potential of yourself. On the back of your paper use words to describe everything that is taking place.
2. Understand the current state of affairs. Look at your processes, structure, work/life balance, and resources – everything that relates to you. Talk to your co-workers or employees and find out how they perceive you and the work you do. What do they view as your strengths and weaknesses? The more you understand about the current state of affairs, the more able you are to deal with the future. The Managing Your Career section of Career Planning provides a step-by-step guide to follow in completing the exercises in this module if you find yourself struggling.
3. Define your core competencies. As you proceed through the Career Exploration Modules, there will be some elements of yourself that keep resurfacing as key performance factors. Use the insights gained from these exercises to help incorporate your core competencies into your vision statement.
4. Start writing. Using these core elements, jot down a series of statements that describe the ideal picture for the future. As with any good brainstorming, don’t limit yourself – keep an open mind. The end result should be the draft of your vision statement. Before writing it in stone, however, make sure the vision of the future is really where you want to be. The saying, “Be careful what you wish for, you might get it” – is exactly true.

Guided Imagery
Imagine you are starting a typical day, about five years from now. It’s a workday. You are trying to decide what to wear. Look over your collection of clothes. What do finally decide to wear?
Imagine you are making yourself look nice in front of the mirror. How do you feel as you think about the coming day at work? Calm? Excited? Bored? Afraid?
You are eating breakfast now. Is there anyone with you or are you eating alone?
You’re ready to head to work. Is your office in your home? If not, how do you get there? How far away is the office?
You are entering your workplace now. Stop for a moment and try to get a mental picture of your workplace. Where is it? What does it look like? Who is there? How many people do you work with? What are they doing?
Complete the morning, working right up to lunchtime. Form an image of the things you do on the job. Think about what you are actually doing. Are you working with ideas or adding figures?
Are you working with people, talking to them, helping them in some way? Are you using tools or running a machine? Do you work mostly by yourself or with lots of other people? Are you mostly indoors or outdoors?
Now it’s lunchtime. Where do you go? Who are the people you eat with? What are they like? What are they talking about?
Return to work now and finish your workday. Is there anything different from the morning’s work? What is the last thing you do before you finish your workday?
Your workday is coming to an end. Has it been mostly satisfying or frustrating? What has made it so?
Part II: Trident Education
After completing your vision statement, write a few paragraphs on how your degree from Trident University will help you to achieve your vision? What skills do you think you can learn at Trident to help you achieve success in the career that you described in your vision statement?
Part III: Reflection
In the final part of the assignment, answer the following question in detail:
Reflecting back, how has your vision impacted your career satisfaction in the past?
Assignment Expectations
Complete all three parts of the writing assignment in a single word document.